Empty Nest
by InkDrawnDreamer
Summary: What if Nagi's daughter was still alive after all? All Nagi has wanted since his wife's death is to hold their baby girl. 5-year old Kaname loves the Undertakers as if they were her family, but wants only to see her father face-to-face. They finally get the chance when Tamaki grants them a visit, unbeknownst to them that they are now key players in a twisted and bloody game.
1. Chapter 1

"She's very cute, but maybe Daddy's biased," the man chuckled, relaxed as ever.

The woman beside him smiled weakly.

"Heh, she looks just like you."

Karako strained to hold back the hurt on her face as she stared at the silver object in her hands. Nagi had mentioned before that he had a daughter outside Deadman Wonderland. The kid would be almost six now. But she didn't know that it was like this.

There was no 'baby picture' in his late wife's locket. Just dust and the dull shine that rimmed the inside of the keepsake. But when her eyes locked onto his, they were still met with a hopeful glint. Nagi knew fully well that he was chasing a dream by its tail and into a dangerous place, that much she knew for certain. Yet, what was this feeling, this aura emanating from him? Call it corny or whatever else, but it was. A rare trust in a labyrinth built on paranoia and hopelessness.

Now that Karako knew why he kept fighting she knew that she had to be there. She had to make sure that he never lost that light. After all, she knew all about what happened to him in that Carnival Corpse match. She truly loved him, but still respected his being a widower enough not to show it too much. After all, even as cold as she had been at the time, watching that man break down with a corpse in his arms was enough to make even_her_ cringe. She knew he would never forget his wife as long as he lived, or their "daughter". In a twisted way, she really did admire his pursuit of that ghost of a child. Even when reaching it was no longer possible.

As for Nagi, that goal was the last strand of Spider's Thread keeping his sanity from breaking. The last connection to his beloved, the thing that would set him free, or so he thought. If only he knew what had really happened...

The room was pretty quiet until the alarm rang. When it did, it always sounded something like the pitiful cry of an injured bird. The child woke up wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, and more than a little disdained at leaving her warm cocoon. As drowsy as she was, she managed to at least open her eyes. Her irises stood out in the dark, bluish gray and hinted with rust, appearing and dissapearing as she blinked away the haze and the world became clear and focused again.

She felt a partial warmth against her back, and twisted herself around, just enough to see that the door had been left slightly ajar. That's right, normally one of them would leave it open. Slowly but carefully, she lifted herself away from the bed, and her bare feet hit the metallic ground with a wobbly step. It was always cold this early, but still none too pleasant.

She did not even bother to check her reflection, as if she even remembered where Tamaki had hidden that mirror amongst her drawers. She stepped toward the door cautiously, like any frightened child would. When she could ascertain that no one was there, she finally pushed it away and stepped out of her room. The labyrinth of hallways was dreadfully bright, sterilized, but by now it had become familiar. Her footsteps echoed through the large hallway, and she wondered every so often what dazed miscreant might hear.

Suddenly, her ears picked up another set of footsteps, and they were much heavier than hers by far. Could it be a prisoner? This early? Acting on reflex, she ducked behind the gate, but just as she did, the figure stopped. She stayed crouched behind the column, trembling from the pressure on her squat legs. Though she could tell who it was by now, at least judging by the faint scent of smoke that wafted her way.

Genkaku heaved a sigh. "Kaname, come on out, you're gonna be late for breakfast."

The little girl stepped out timidly, hands hidden behind her back like a little kid who had stolen from a cookie jar.

"H-how'd you know?" she said quietly.

"You weren't exactly invisible." He nudged his head down with a hint of annoyance, "And that damn dress."

Kaname looked down, baffled as usual. It was simple, black and white, with the DW logo printed on the front of a sewn on plaque, she assumed to be, in place of a prison number. It was actually one of the cheesy souvenirs sold at the carnival. (Ironically, though, it never made sense to her as to why an outsider would want their child wearing it in the first place).

"What's wrong with it? I'm not the only one who wears it." She smoothed out the creases in the fabric, suddenly self-conscious.

The Undertaker's hand met, quite routinely, with his forehead.

"Only you of all people would wear that cheap getup," he muttered as he began walking away.

She followed close behind. He and Tamaki actually fought over this before, something about "his pupil not looking like a fucking billboard". She giggled.

_"See? It's adorable isn't it?" Tamaki said with his hands on the child's shoulders._

_ "What the fuck is that? Pretty sure those things are a century out of date," Genkaku said with a raised eyebrow._

_ "Come on, she looks so cute." His face curved into the likeness of a fox for a split second. It seemed like even the most innocent of remarks could make his face stretch lingo that twisted grin._

_ "No, it looks more like one of those uniforms you make the prisoners working the carnival wear," the monk said flatly, "I'm guessing the budget got cut again?"_

_ The promoter twitched. "That is none of your business."_

_ "Cheapskate," Genkaku remarked as he took a drag on his cigarette._

_ "But it looks so nice! Fits well too, don't you think so Kaname?" he asked her with a smile._

_ She nodded. The monk groaned. _

_ "What? She likes it," he said all too innocently. He turned to her and whispered in her ear. "Say 'don't you like it, Daddy?'"_

_ "Okay. Don't you like it Daddy?" she mimicked obediently._

_ Genkaku glared at Tamaki, obviously unamused. "I'm not her 'daddy'."_

_ "Oh come on, she looks just like you!" he said cheerfully as he mussed up the child's hair. He was right about that in part at least, she had that same red color seeped into her dark curls. Even the doctor had said it was odd._

_ "Damn it, do you really have to pick all her clothes?" the monk had replied, trying very hard not to mortally wound his boss, "Cause you really suck at it. I'm not gonna have my pupil walking around like that." With that, he had stalked off, leaving Tamaki as the beaming victor._

"What's so damned funny?"

Kaname stopped chuckling.

"N-nothing," her voice got quieter.

Genkaku merely shook his head and kept walking, the little one trailing right behind him like a duckling.

It had been a pretty funny little argument. Her boss and her teacher got along terribly, really. Hardly what one would call "professional". As far as Kaname was concerned, the only aspect they could really agree on was her training.

Training had always been different for her, mainly because she had not been born "outside" like everyone else. Genkaku explained it a long time ago. First she she would be taught the basics, and then she would get "corrected".

Kaname never quite understood what being "corrected" was. Sure, she knew what the word meant, but this didn't seem right. When she asked around, nobody ever gave her a direct answer. Not even Genkaku or Mr. Tamaki. "You'll find out when the time comes. Don't worry about it just yet," that's the only thing anybody ever said in response. As eluding as it had become, after a while, she found it best to just give up.

The two of them continued down the corridor without any conversation. Each was used to that though. 'Words were not always necessary,' Genkaku had taught her. He always found a way to work some kind of moral lesson into every day. Tamaki may be their boss, but Genkaku was still her teacher, so it only made sense that he would try to raise her Buddhist, despite Tamaki's protests.

"You may be a monk, but you don't exactly preach by the book," Tamaki had remarked.

"Über Monk. Different set of rules."

In all honesty, she didn't understand much of the stories and proverbs he told her. Genkaku wasn't the best at the whole "explaining things in terms a child would understand" thing. But she was no prodigy herself by any stretch.

After a few more minutes of wandering around, and wandering thoughts, they finally stopped in front of an automated door. It opened to reveal a small but well-furnished dining room. There was a large table with an array of food set down in a long stripe from one end to another, with several other Undertakers already seated, busy grabbing up everything before it was gone. They stepped inside, and Kaname took in the unusually cheerful vibe of the room. It was so different than the gloom normally found in the rest of G-block.

The child scanned the room and quickly found who she was looking for. Seated a few feet from where she stood was Hibana Daida, busy nibbling on a pastry of some sort. The trainee grinned and walked up next to her.

"Oh, good morning Kana-kun," the Undertaker said with a polite smile. Hard to remember that she was a sadistic killer with that face. All the grunts thought so too.

"Morning Hibana-chan," she greeted back merrily.

The girl drew her finger to the side of her friend's eye with a look of concern. "Underneath your eyes are so dark. How long were you up training till, last night?"

"Nine. I had trouble with target practice so I stayed after really late."

"You're only five, kid," Genkaku remarked as he took out a cigarette, "You barely have enough blood to train with, much less stamina."

She pouted. "I can still do better."

A flicker of orange light glowed from the tip of his cigarette.

"Sure you will," his tone was brimming with sarcasm.

"Just be careful. Tamaki would be mad if you got sick from training too much."

It's true, he would be pretty upset. He and the doctors worried about her health a lot. It wasn't that she was particularly fragile or anything. She was an asset.

_'They said it was because of Mommy,'_ she remembered, _'Mommy and I got hurt and fell asleep for a long time. When I woke up, I had special powers like the dead people. They said they needed me, because my Mommy and Daddy and me could do weird things with our blood.'_

"Are you still practicing your flute?" Hibana's voice interrupted her.

"Yeah." she said thoughtfully as she bit into an apple, "I'm learning Genkaku's song."

"Can you play it yet?" the monk asked. His breath was heavy with smoke..

"Almost. Why'd you write it so hard?"

A nother puff of smoke left his lips, "I play guitar, not the flute. It's not exactly my best area."

She tore a piece of red skin off the apple, letting it hang from between her teeth. "I really liked it when you played it for me, it's just hard."

The monk laughed, doing so harder when he saw her scowl. She was so fun to mess with, just like somebody else he knew.

"Eating without me?" a familiar voice echoed.

Kaname turned around to see the figure. It was a lanky boy with dark hair, dressed only in a sweatshirt and long pants.

"Mister Rokuro!" She smiled and ran to him.

His expression did not change.

"Hey Chickadee," he greeted, "You're still wearing that thing?"

She looked down at her dress, then back up with a fresh scowl. "Why does everyone make fun of my clothes?"

"Because Tamaki can't pick them to save his life," Hibana remarked, "Thank goodness he's not a father."

"Whatever." The deadman blew some loose hairs out of his eyes, "Anything left to eat? I'm hungry."

"Undertakers only, spies don't count," Genkaku said without looking at him.

"Come on, treat your laborers well," he said, "Otherwise, you'll lose 'em."

"Don't care, get your own," the monk said as he snatched a bowl away from the man's reach.

Rokuro shook his head and grabbed another apple anyway. As he began to walk away, he stopped short.

"Oh yeah," he said with his back turned away, "The plan's finally begun. Just wait for your cues and everything will go smoothly."

The monk grinned. "I'll try not to come too early. But I can't guarantee there won't be starter casualties."

"The more the better. Stack them up high, if you can. See you." And with that he disappeared.

Kaname looked from the closed door to Genkaku. He smirked.

"Extra work."

She wanted to ask what for, but stayed quiet. Things like this were nothing new after all. Still, the way Rokuro spoke was a tad bit creepy.

"Hey Kaname," one of the other Undertakers called as they entered into the room, clutching a note, "Tamaki wants to see you."

"Okay." She hopped down from her chair and waved a quick goodbye before disappearing into the hall. She was pretty used to being called down to Mr. Tamaki's office. It was usually just for training evaluations and making sure she was progressing alright, nothing major. The young deadman could never understand why the prisoners seemed so afraid of him. He was kind of funny actually.

By the time she reached the familiarly vibrant space, she had already forgotten about Rokuro's message. She stepped inside, as usual, amazed by how much more it resembled the inside of a toybox rather than an office. Tamaki was sitting at his desk, fixing that weird dancing flower that he was so fond of. When he finally glanced over at her, he beamed, stretching his face back into that of a fox.

"Why, hello there Kaname-chan, thank you for coming so quickly." He abandoned the toy and gestured for her to take a seat.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked politely.

"Yes," he said, "I have some news that I feel you will be most pleased to hear."

"What?"

"It will take a little while, and your time with him will be limited, like before, but," he explained, "You will get to see your father again."

It took a moment for his words to register, and after the initial disbelief, a bright smile grew wide across her face.

"Really? You really mean it?" she asked excitedly. This had to be a dream.

"I do, dear Kaname. However, be warned that there will be heavy stipulations as there were before."

"That's just fine to me," she said quickly, her voice enthralled, "Thank you so much!"

The man grinned with sly subtlety. "The date is set at three days from now, at eleven thirty at night. You can stay with him until one in the morning," his voice was smooth but strangely cryptic, "Make sure it feels like a dream, Kaname."

She nodded and bowed graciously before rushing out his office door, and almost bumping into Rei.

"Hey, careful there," the doctor said as she stopped the little girl with her arm.

Kaname looked up with a guilty expression. "Oh, um, I'm sorry."

"That's okay," she said with a sigh, "But just so you know, the prisoners are starting to wake up. You're going to have to wear the collar."

"Aww, do I have to?" she groaned.

"Yes, you have to blend in Kana-chan," the woman said, feeling around a cabinet for a spare, "We can't have anyone asking questions can we?"

"No...we can't," the child said defeatedly as the the metal ring was snapped around her neck.

The doctor smiled, "Good girl, now run along, okay?"

She fled the room immediately. Rei waited until the door shut before turning back to the promoter, all facades now cast aside.

"It isn't like you to grant privileges out of the blue like that," she said calmly, "Just what do you have in store for them, Mister Tamaki?"

"They say the early bird catches the worm, Ms. Takashima." He shot her a cunning look. "I'm merely dangling that worm in front of our bird's eye. If the bird is too hasty, there is a higher chance of error."

Hm, I see." she crossed her arms, smirk not fading, "And he won't even think to suspect what her occupation may be."

"Ah yes, the invisible question that begs," Tamaki wondered aloud, "Is this little one in front of his eye a nameless worm?"

"Or?" the woman replied the question.

His tight-lipped grin widened. "Or...Is she the worm eater."


	2. Chapter 2

Pt 2. "Chickadee"

**"-Meanwhile the areas most affected have been scavenged clean and remained a refuge for criminals," **the TV blared from inside the base.

Ganta could hear it clearly. He paused and took a deep breath before finally opening the door. Everyone in Scar Chain paused to look at him.

"Ah, um...good to meet you all, I guess...again," he stammered, "Uhm, sorry about yesterday..."

To his surprise, Karako grinned and hit him on the back. "I thought so!" she said cheerfully, "I knew you'd come back. Now let's put that aside and have some fun today!"

Everyone laughed along lightheartedly but quieted down when Shiro walked in behind him.

"You brought the girl with you."

"I'm sorry, she just came along, really," he apologized.

"Can she join in? If she's not a deadman, it'll be a bit much for her," she pointed out.

"No...really I think anything complicated would be a bit much for her..." he replied, staring at Shiro, who was flapping her arms awkwardly, "Shiro you should go back to the room."

"Eh? No way. I'm staying with you!"

A wolf-whistle echoed through the base. His face went beet red.

"Ehh! Th-that's not it..." he stammered, and a few people snickered in response.

He blushed harder and turned back to Shiro, "Look, we made a promise right? Once the plan is finished, we'll be free and we'll ride the Ferris Wheel together. So you'll need to wait for me in the room until then."

She nodded back.

"Promise me!"

She hung her head and paused for a moment. "Fine."

Karako smiled at them and put an arm around his shoulder. "Why don't you take her back real quick? We can stand to wait a few more minutes."

"O-okay, thank you." He nodded quickly and began following Shiro down the hall.

"Why is Shiro so hungry?"

"I don't kno-"

"Oh no!" she cut him off, "I forgot all about my pudding this morning!"

She broke out into a run.

"Huh? Hey Shiro, wait!" Ganta called as he feebly tried to catch up. As he was chasing her, somebody suddenly ran into him, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oww, that hurt," a female voice whimpered. A child? "Oh no! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," he replied, unable to keep from gawking.

The curly, dark hair, that voice, those eyes...

She noticed his stare.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" he snapped back to reality, "Oh! No, everything's fine. Sorry about running into you. I-I'm Ganta by the way."

"Ganta huh?" she repeated it and smiled warmly, "Well, nice to meet you. My name is Kaname."

"Kaname, huh. Alright then." He looked around the hall, unable to focus, "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Huh?" The child cocked her head, confused, "I live in here. Don't you?"

"Technically yeah, but I wouldn't really call it_living_ here," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

_'What's the deal with this girl? Why would she even be here?'_ he thought, _'Well, she's wearing a collar, so I guess she's a prisoner. Poor kid, I wonder how she wound up in DW...'_

"I-uh, I have to go now, sorry." Ganta got up and dusted himself off. "But it was nice to meet you Kaname-chan."

She waved goodbye to him and kept on walking down the hall. She couldn't be seen by the other prisoners except in G-Block, and even then, Tamaki said she had to be careful. Nevertheless, she came here every day to see her father. Well, _she_ could see _him_, anyway. He could never see her, those were the rules. But as much as she detested it, she complied.

Finally, she stopped at her destination. Inside, the room was empty save for a couple of grunts lined up against the row of lockers. Yes, the lockers, which were abnormally beaten and singed with all the hues of a corroded rainbow. But that was not all. The outstanding feature was, instead of rust, a fine, crusty splatter of dried blood. She had asked around about that one day when she was little, but all the Undertakers kept silentsilent. She could remember seeing their palms sweat, and for a week after, their voices quivered fearfully whenever one of them would speak. Whatever the case, she figured, what happened had surely left some deep scars.

She bent down and began fiddling with the lock, and smiled when she heard it finally click open. The locker was vacant save for a flute lined with fragments of blue glass, and an old kimono. The garment resembled Genkaku's very strongly, making it ever the more obvious as to who picked it out. But where his was black and streaked with red flames, hers was pale green with blue shapes adorning the borders. The monk said it was like a good luck charm, and so it had to relate to how they fought. "I use a gun, so mine has flames," he explained, "You use water, so you get moons."

Just then, her ears picked up a familiar set of footsteps.

"Hey kid," Genkaku called as he stepped toward the little girl, "Ready for some target practice?"

"Ready." She turned her attention to the razor blade that hung from around her neck. Blood streamed from her arm as soon as the metal cut through her skin. A flick of her small wrist and it morphed into several floating red orbs, riddled with spikes.

"Take a deep breath," Genkaku instructed from the sidelines, "Now focus and strike."

With barely a breath's speed, Kaname hurled her Branch of Sin at the targets. They were badly dented, but unbroken.

"And again."

A few new orbs formed and smashed into the targets, but once again, they were still all in one piece.

"Come on, focus."

She took a deep breath and spread her arms wide. Mimicking her gesture, the spikes detached from their spheres, undoing themselves like an unraveling ball of yarn. With a quick wave of her arms, the thin blades whizzed through the air, colliding with the targets as if they were struck by a torpedo. They broke apart instantly. Her teacher smirked at her handiwork.

"Good work." He mussed up the child's hair. "Let's take a break for now. Tamaki wanted to see you later for some medical tests."

"Okay."

"So I hear you get to see your dad again soon."

"Yep." She beamed.

"Hm, maybe I'll drop by to see him, myself..." he trailed off.

Kaname chuckled. Genkaku would show up at her dad's base every so often and mess with him. Though, from what she saw, he never enjoyed the monk's constant appearances.

"How long has it been? A year?"

She grinned from ear to ear. "Uh-huh. It's been a while."

Elsewhere, a tired-looking man was looking at photographs. They were almost sterile in just how cleanly they had been kept; pristine and clear as the day they had been taken. In each one, he stared back at his own smiling face, and a woman's. A particular one caught his eye, and he brought it to the front of the deck, fanned out like a hand of playing cards. His expression turned down into something melancholic.

The photo was of himself, just a few years younger, sitting on a bed of grass, while the woman sat on a wooden bench. He had her slender fingers grasped firmly in his own, and his head was rested comfortably against her swollen belly.

If he closed his eyes, he could still hear the 'thump' that came from it.

The laughter that escaped their lips when it kicked him.

The tears in her eyes when she took his face in her hands and told him what a wonderful father he would be.

He sighed. Where had it all gone so wrong?

"You okay?"

Nagi turned his head up to see Karako, who was looking down at him with a worried look.

"I'm fine." was all he said.

She half-glanced at the photos in his hand. Now it was her turn to heave a sigh.

"You're looking at them again."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help it sometimes."

She walked over to the bed and took a seat beside him. "I know," she said, "You can't just forget that sort of thing. Shouldn't, really."

He smiled weakly. "Sometimes it helps."

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, a gesture oftened exchanged when one of them was about to break down.

"That's good. Good memories shouldn't make a person cry, I don't think."

Actually, he never cried about it. Not since that day. The day she died, shielding her abdomen with her arms as she was cut apart. And not since the night he saw **her**.

_ "Who's there?" Nagi called out into the dark. He bit down lightly on the skin of his thumb, and allowed a small amount ofblood to stream out of the wound; Just as a precaution._

_ Out stepped an unfamiliar figure. He squinted, unable to see more than a faint outline in the dark._

_ "Where are you? I can't see." It was a child's voice. _

_ His expression turned confused. Why would a child be here? Without turning his back on them, he clicked on a nearby lamp, and was surprised at who he saw when he turned his head around. It was a little girl, no more than four years old, but that was not the shocking part. Even in the dim light only, he could see that she looked just like him, with short, dark curls, and wide eyes. There was even a black scarf tied around her shoulders, mimicking his own._

_ He bent down so that his face was at level with hers. _

_ "Little girl," his voice was concerned, "What on earth are you doing in here?" _

_ She didn't reply, but instead took a step closer and wrapped her arms around his torso. They weren't even long enough to reach all the way around him._

_ I missed you," she muttered into the thick folds of his shirt. "Dad."_

_ Nagi was taken aback. This girl couldn't really be his daughter could she? Honestly, he didn't want to believe it. She was supposed to be safe on the outside, away from here. But still..._

_ "Your voice."_

_ "Pardon?"_

_ "Why is your voice like that?"_

_ His fingers found the jagged line that spanned his throat. Let's see, how to explain this to a child?_

_ "Some bad things happened and I lost my voice for a while," he replied after a long pause, "So it sounds like this now." _

_ "Oh," was all she said in response. "I'm sorry."_

_ He instinctively placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't apologize, it's not your fault."_

_ The faintest grin crept onto her face, and he couldn't help but smile a little in return. It was endearing, really. He had been in prison for more than five years. It seemed like forever since he had seen a child, and longer still since it was somebody so innocent and happy._

_ "I just realized," he said, "I don't even know your name. Could you please tell me?"_

_ "Kaname," she replied plainly, "Kaname Kengamine."_

_ "Kaname," he let the name settle on his tongue, and smiled warmly."That was one of the names your mother and I had considered for you, actually."_

_ "Really?" Her eyes lit up._

_ "Yes, but by the time you were about to be born, we had decided on a different name."_

_ "Can I keep this one?"_

_ He chuckled. "It's a bit late to change it anyhow."_

_ The little girl threw her arms around him and giggled. _

_ 'That's adorable,' he said to himself,'And she seems like a sweet girl.' Just like somebody else he knew._

_ He laid down on the futon and she followed suite, crashing down on it with a loud thump. A soft laugh escaped her lips. He sighed contentedly, then suddenly sat back up again. _

_ "Would you like to see a neat trick, Kaname?" _

_ The invitation was tempting. She nodded._

_ "Okay, hold out your hands."_

_ She did. A single orb of blood slowly bubbled out of his finger and floated toward her. Kaname watched with wonder as it hovered weightlessly in her hands, radiating a dim light from the center of the pitch-black cell._

_ "Wow." She eyed the Owl's Eyeball intently. A broad, red glow cast itself across her mesmerized face._

_ "Now hold very still."_

_ "Okay."_

_ With a careful prod, the hovering orb popped like a balloon, dissipating into minuscule embers like the burning end of a firework._

_ "It felt like a spark."_

_ "But it was warmer right?" _

_ "Uh-huh." She let out a yawn._

_ Her father smiled. "You should get some rest."_

_ She nodded and rubbed the sleep from her eyes._

_ Nagi began to reach for her, but withdrew. Kaname looked up at him and cocked her head to the side curiously. He cleared his throat under his breath._

_ "Kaname," he asked quietly, "Would it be alright if I held you?" _

_ She answered by jumping into his lap, almost knocking them both down in the process. He gave a lighthearted laugh and gathered her up in his arms. As far as he was concerned, she may as well have been made of glass. In truth, he was terrified right now. Terrified that she would suddenly vanish into thin air as if she were never real to begin with. Just dissipate into the madness along with every other crushed hope in there; As if all of this were nothing but some hazy dream. Not to mention that they were inside of a dangerous prison full of every possible brand of criminal. (That said, seeing that her neck was bare was quite a relief.)_

'No, this isn't the time to be hesitatant,' _Nagi said in silence, _'Just hang on as tight as you can.'

_He hugged his daughter close. She stayed seated comfortably, cocooned in his lap, busying herself with the frayed edges of his scarf._

_ "The other one was your mother's you know," he said._

_ "Mom's?" _

_ "Uh-huh."_

_ "Where is Mommy now?"_

_ He let out a sad sigh and brushed a stray curl away from her eyes. They were colored strangely, much like his two of them were silent._

_ "She's gone," he finally answered._

_ Kaname said nothing in response. She understood enough. Nagi quietly pulled the blanket over them, hoping the comfort would dampen down the melancholy._

_ "Daddy?"_

_ "Yes, Kaname?"_

_ She wrapped her thin arms around him and swallowed hard. "D-don't leave."_

_ His expression softened. He looked down at the little girl cradled in his arms, staring sadly into her reddened eyes. Careful as to not startle her, he placed a small kiss on his daughter's forehead._

_ "I'm not going anywhere, all right?" His voice was sweetened, even with its metallic tinge. "I'm not leaving."_

_ Kaname looked up at him and a weak smile crossed her face. She let her head fall against his shoulder. He shifted her weight in his arms, letting her body fall to his side. Neither of them were very tired, truthfully, just worn down and mourning. Nagi breathed a sigh, keeping his child cradled safely against him, like a chick shielded underneath an Owl's wing; Safe from the world around them. _

After that, they had a little more time together, the rest of which was spent catching up more than anything. Nagi told her about what he and her mother did before coming to DW. He asked her things too, but she couldn't answer most of the time. They both made feeble attempts at drawing with the crayons Hibana had given her (though she had to take them all away later). However simple as it was, it didn't matter to her. It was one of the best moments of Kaname's life. She missed her father. A lot, and it was a void not often filled. And she knew deep down that no matter how much she tried, she couldn't substitute the staff or the other Undertakers for her parents.

_"We're not a family, understand?" _Genkaku had snapped at her about it once before, when she was very small.

She remembered it well. That time, she had tried to give him a hug, so he yanked her away by the hair and called her a bunch of names that she didn't know the meanings of.

_"You may think that stuff's real fuckin' cute, but it's not. So cut that shit out or else."_

She hadn't been able to answer beyond a nod. She was trying too hard not to cry. Hibana was there too, but Kaname couldn't remember what else happened all that well. She at least thinks, hopes really, that Hibana yelled at him for it. Both of them were so scary to her when she was younger. To make matters worse, Tamaki just loved

to dump her on whoever happened to be around. When Rokuro first showed up, according to him anyway, he got stuck taking care of her all the time. (Let the record show that he also loves to bring that up as often as possible.) Ms. Takashima would tell her stories like that too, about when she was a baby.

She said that Tamaki would play with her in his office every now and again when he wasn't working. He would always look so delightedly amused watching her grab at that weird flower. At least, that is, when she was conscious. Back then, she used to pass out all the time because the doctors had to take so many blood samples all at once.

When she got a bit older, and less fragile, the Undertakers began taking care of her, begrudgingly as it might have been. Hibana loved it, but it made Genkaku reel. He hated kids in general already, so working with and taking care of two little girls did not exactly dampen his displeasure. For that reason, she learned to stay quiet and do as they told her very quickly. Genkaku still doesn't like having to play babysitter, but he is admittedly a lot more tolerant of her being there. Actually, they got along pretty well most of the time.

Not surprisingly, Tamaki loves to make fun of the monk for it. Even less surprising is that Genkaku denies caring every time. Honestly, the little girl can never understand him. He snaps at her a lot, but he does nice things too sometimes, like when he taught her to play flute. She asked him once why he would get so angry at everybody, but he wasn't making any sense again, as usual.

_"I feel no hatred, well, maybe a little,"_ he had said with a bitter laugh, _"I'm frustrated that they can't accept enlightenment. That's why I'm hoping you'll be different Kaname." _

And he had patted her head like he did sometimes when he was in a good mood. She still didn't quite understand everything, but she accepted it anyway. After all, he's still her teacher, and she wants him to be happy with her too.

She sighed. If only.

"Stop being so loud Genkaku," Hibana's voice interrupted her train of thought, "I can't finish my homework with you shredding on your stupid air guitar."

The monk in question shot her an annoyed look. After Kaname's training was done with, he did indeed drop by to see her father. Somehow, while he was there, a girl broke his guitar. When he came back, Kaname and Hibana found him crying, actually _crying_, with the broken pieces of his beloved Flying V in his hands. He's been bitter about it all day. Because of that, he had been playing air guitar for the past quarter hour or so to ease his boredom, much to his younger cohort's irritation.

"Damn, who the hell's that albino girl? She a friend of Owl's too?" he sighed, "That bastard never learns."

"Then all you need to do is punish him again," the girl replied frankly.

Kaname said nothing, but knew that they were right. Genkaku grinned. "Ha, right."

"Hey boss." One of the grunts returned with a familiar object in his hands. Genkaku practically leapt up to receive the new guitar, gawking at how it gleamed.

The patter of footsteps made the three of them turn their heads. A familiarly blank face appeared in front of them.

The monk smirked. "We ready to open up a can of whoopass?"

"99 percent," Rokuro cracked his neck loudly.

"It seems the leader has brought in a new member. But be it eight or nine, it's no issue." Another crack. "Well, if my calculations are correct."

Kaname swallowed anxiously, but not from any sort of fright. After all, her reward is all part of the plan. Tamaki's instructions echoed in her head like a broken record.

_"Make it feel like a dream..."_


End file.
